Beauty and the Beast
by savethemadscientist
Summary: Beauty and the Beast but not as you know it.
1. Chapter 1

**A.N: I'm sorry for taking so long getting the next chapter of Cinderella written but I hope to have it done by the end of the week. Until then please enjoy the first chapter of Beauty and the Beast. If I get enough requests I will post the rest of the story but please note that I will be rewriting this one at some point.**

 **Beauty and the Beast Chapter One**

Beauty and the Beast is one of the best love stories of all time. In the original story Beauty went to live with the beast in exchange of her father who took a rose from the Beast's garden.

This tale however is different; the heroines name is not Beauty, Its Susan.

Susan lives with her father, Henry and her two sisters, Claire and Danielle in a house in the country a short distance from a town. Although Susan's father is a wealthy man she doesn't like to spend money and party all the time like Claire and Danielle. Every other day Susan goes for a walk with her horse. During these walks she explores the surrounding woods of her home. She has very dark brown hair, sky blue eyes and is twenty two years old. Danielle is twenty four, two years older than Susan, has Golden blonde hair and hazel eyes. Claire is twenty six, has mucky blonde hair and brown eyes. Despite their age none of the sisters are married although Susan has received many offers, each of which she has declined saying that she is not yet ready to marry. Claire and Danielle are all too ready to marry. The only problem is that no one wants to marry them because of their spitefulness to people.

Our story begins on a fine summer's day. It is Thursday. Susan is in the garden tending the vegetables. It is the middle of summer and very warm. Susan is wearing a knee length black dress with long sleeves and a bodice that matches I colour. On her feet is a simple pair of matching shoes. The bodice is grey with black ribbon. She hears a knock on the door and stands up straight. Susan is tall for a female while her sisters are short. Her father is short for a male. She hears her father walk out of his study to answer the door. She wonders who is calling and decides to investigate.

As she gets closer to the door she can hear the voice more clearly but doesn't recognize the voice. She moves closer and hears a voice that she knows all too well.

"Oh no, not him again" she thinks, groaning to herself. She sneaks into the room nearest the front door, the kitchen and eave drops on the conversation.

"Henry, I'd like to talk to you about your daughters" the man says.

"What about them?" Henry asks.

"My two friends and I are looking to find a wife and settle down. We would like to ask for your daughters hand in marriage" the man explains. Susan stands back from the door when she hears this. After a minute she presses her ear back on the kitchen door.

"How about you and your friends come to dinner tonight, you can meet my daughters there and decide which one you each want to marry" Henry suggests.

"On behalf of my friends, we gratefully accept your offer" the man says, "good day". Susan hears the door close and rushes back to the garden.

A moment later she hears her father call hers and her sister's names. She goes to where he is and sees Claire and Danielle walk down the stairs.

"You called father" Claire says when they reach him.

"Yes I did, we're having a formal dinner tonight" he says.

"What is the occasion?" Danielle asks.

"I have found each of you a husband and they are joining us for dinner" their father replies. Claire and Danielle's faces light up with joy while Susan's face becomes grim and unhappy. She looks at her father about to say something.

"And before you ask Susan, you may not sit in the kitchen and hide like the last time, it is high time you married" he says.

"But father, I've told you several times, I don't want to be married" Susan protests.

"I know but once you are, your husband will treat you like royalty" he says.

"But that's not what I want, I want to help poor people" Susan explains to her father.

"I'll here mo more of this helping poor people out business, they don't need help; they chose to be poor so it's their problem" he says. Susan gives up; she knows there's no way of persuading her father to change his mind once he's made a decision.

Hours later the man from earlier is back with his two friends. Henry opens the door when they knock on it and lets them in. he then shows them into the study. After that he goes to the bottom of the stairs and calls Claire, Danielle and Susan down. Claire is the first down the stairs. She is wearing a pale blue sleeveless full length dress with matching shoes. Next to come down the stairs is Danielle. She is wearing a strapless lilac dress that is almost identical to Claire's dress. A few minutes and Susan has still not gone down the stairs.

"Susan, hurry up, we haven't go all night" he yells. Susan hears her father yell for her for the second time. She sighs and stands up.

"Better get this over and done with" she thinks. She walks out of her room and down the stairs.

"It's about time, they are in the study" he says. Susan is wearing a black full length dress with off the shoulder straps. Under the skirt of her dress there are several layers of black petticoats. The top of her dress is bodice style without the ribbons.

Henry leads the way to the study with Danielle, Claire and Susan Following in that order. He opens the door and they walk in. The three men stand up when they enter the room, all of them wearing dinner jackets with tailcoats, white shirts, black trousers and shoes.

"Henry, these are my two friends, James and Steven" he says pointing to the two people respectively. James has brown hair, brown eyes and is twenty six. Steven is also twenty six but has ginger hair and green eyes. William however has blonde hair, blue eyes and is twenty five.

"Gentlemen, I'd like to introduce you to my three daughters, Claire the eldest" he says, pointing to her, "Danielle he continues while pointing to Danielle "and Susan, the youngest" he finishes while pointing at Susan. Claire and Danielle both curtsy but Susan stands where she is with her arms crossed. All of the men bow to the ladies. Susan still does nothing.

"Good evening Susan, it's lovely to see you again" William says.

"William, how many times has it been now? Twenty? Thirty? No matter how many times you ask me, I'm still going to give you the same answer. No I will not marry you, I wouldn't marry you even if we were the last two people on earth" Susan says. Just then Susan hears her sisters giggle. She looks at her sisters and sees James kissing Claire's hand as well as Steven kissing Danielle's hand. She turns to face William.

"But I don't need to ask you for your hand in marriage, I've asked your father and I think he approves the idea" William says slyly. Before Susan can say anything there is a knock on the study door. A servant walks in.

"Dinner is served" the servant says. He then leaves again. James leads Claire and Steven leads Danielle into the dining room. Susan looks around and realizes that she and William are the only two people in the study.

"May I escort you into the dining room?" William asks.

"William, your charm isn't going to work on me; I already know what you're like; selfish, arrogant and pigheaded. Susan replies.

"So, no, you may not escort me, I can get there myself" Susan continues. She then goes to the dining room with William following her.

The meal is eaten in silence. After the meal Steven a ring to Danielle while James does the same to Claire. The two of them squeal in delight and each of them accepts the offer. Henry then looks at Susan who looks at her lap.

"Now, Susan, William has asked me for your hand in marriage and I'm going to let him have it" he says.

"But" Susan begins.

"No buts, now put the ring on that William has" he says. William holds a gold ring out for her finger, her finger gates closer and closer to the ring. While this happens she thinks of what to do to get out of her current situation. After a minute she has it. She stands up quickly and bolts out of the dining room, grabs her cloak from the bottom of the staircase and ties the ribbon around her neck while leaving the house. She then climbs on her horse and rides away into the forest night.

Meanwhile back at the house everyone is silent and shocked by what has just happened. After a minute Henry stands up.

"She's probably just gone to her room" he says.

"Father, she's left the house, didn't you hear the front door slam?" Claire says.

Henry stops in his tracks.

"Oh" he says, "that changes things, I'm going after her, everyone, wait here until I get back" he grabs his coat and leaves the house. He gets on his horse and leaves.


	2. Chapter 2

**A.N: Here is the next chapter. I'm going to post one each day until the whole story is there but please note that at some point I'm going to be rewriting this as there is a fair amount of it that could use improving.**

 **Chapter Two**

Meanwhile Susan is still galloping through the dark forest. After having ridden for ten minutes she stops and sees that no one is following her she then looks at her dark brown horse and can see that she's tired so she gets her to walk rather than gallop or trot. Several minutes later she comes through a clearing and sees a huge, dark and gloomy castle. She climbs off her horse and leads her towards the castle.

"What a spooky place" she says to the horse. What Susan doesn't know is that she's being watched from one of the highest windows by the resident of the castle. Susan walks around the grounds, taking in her surroundings. The castle is overrun with weeds and there are vines climbing all over the walls. The gargoyles are chipped and broken. Susan wonders if she should leave or not, after all the resident of this place might not like visitors. After a minute her curiosity gets the better of her. She walks over to tree and ties the horse's reins to it. Just as she's walking away the horse whines at her and she goes and strokes the horses head.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine. I won't be long" she says. Slowly she approaches the castle taking one cautious foot step after another. When she reaches the main entrance she knocks on the door and waits for a minute. No reply. She knocks again, still no reply. She knocks a third time and the door creaks open on its own.

"Creepy, someone obviously lives here, but whom? And why are they hiding? Maybe they're shy" she thinks. She doesn't enter for a minute, wondering if this is a trap but once again her curiosity overcomes her fear. She walks through the door and into the castle.

Susan finds herself in a huge entrance hall with lots of doors leading off from both the ground floor and the second floor. On either side of her there is a staircase leading to landing that makes a horse shoe shape with the gap being the side that she's standing on. There are no lights making the castle see more gloomy and dark. She wonders where each door leads to and realizes that it would take her a long time to fully explore the place, it's enormous. She knew it looked huge from the outside but it's a lot larger than she anticipated. Suddenly out of the corner of her eye she sees movement to the left. She runs up the stairs and follows the movement. Meanwhile Henry is galloping through the forest, following Susan's trail. Eventually he comes to the castle and finds Susan's horse tied to a tree. He climbs off his horse and goes over to Susan's horse. He unties her and leads both horses to where he thinks he's seen a stable. He's right, it is a stable. He leaves the horses there and goes to the garden. At this time Susan is still following the movement she thought she saw. She's climbing a spiral staircase. She spots a window and looks out of it. She sees her father in the garden below.

"Not him, I didn't think anyone had followed me" she thinks. She sighs and goes back down the stairs. The thing she'd been following peeps from further up the staircase and sees her leave. It looks at her with curiosity. Susan has reached the entrance hall and walks to the double doors opposite the entrance on the ground floor.

She opens the right hand side door and walks into the garden. She finds her father wondering around the roses.

"Susan" he exclaims when he sees her. Susan sighs again. Henry runs up to Susan and hugs her. He then let's go of her.

"Susan, we have to get out of here" he says.

"Why? There's nothing dangerous here" Susan asks.

"It's rumoured that something hideous and terrifying lives here" he says. Susan looks at her father.

"Father, what is it?" Susan asks.

"This is supposed to be the home of a monster" he says.

"What nonsense" she says, "look if you're that scared something's going to get you then go".

"But what about you?" he asks.

"Don't worry about me, now go before the boogie man comes and eats you" Susan says. Henry looks at his daughter.

"Susan, please come back with me before anything happens" he says. Susan shakes her head.

"No father, I need some time alone to find myself before I make any commitments" Susan says.

"But" he protests.

"No buts, I'll be back at the weekend to let you know I'm okay but I'm only going to stay one night and then I'm leaving again" Susan says, "now go". Her father admits defeat and walks off.

Susan stands where she is for a few minutes, feeling the wind blowing through her hair. Once again she is being watched, this from a window in the highest tower of the castle. When she looks up at the tower the thing ducks away and Susan doesn't see it. A minute later she goes back into the entrance hall. She yawns and realizes that she should leave before the resident of the castle thinks she's hear to steal something. She heads to the front door and opens it when she gets there.

"Susan", she hears a ghostly voice call her name.

"Who's there?" Susan says, suddenly becoming scared.

"Susan", the voice calls again. Susan turns around.

"Yes, I'm here, what do you want?" she calls out.

"Susan" the voice calls for a third time"

"Father, I thought I told you to go home" Susan says closing the door.

"Susan" the voice calls out again.

"Look whoever you are this is not funny" Susan yells running in the direction the voice is coming from. The voice keeps calling her name and Susan keeps following the sound of the voice. She has run to the right side of the building and is now climbing a spiral staircase in a tower. When she gets to the top she finds a door with her name carved into it. She looks at it and wonders how the resident of this place knows her name and that she was going to come here. Slowly she opens the door and walks into the room.

She stops in the doorway when she sees the room. It is a room fit for a Queen with a large double bed that has a canopy. The room is circular with a window opposite the door. Opposite the bed is a large wardrobe made of dark oak. The covers on the bed are red with gold flower designs over it. She goes over to the wardrobe and opens it up. Inside are the most beautiful dresses Susan has ever seen, dresses in every colour and style and they look like they are her size. Susan sits on the bed and bounces up and down to test the mattress.

Obviously whoever lives her intends for me to stay, at least for a little while" she says to herself.

"Hmm" she says, "the room is empty but I was sure this is where the voice came from. Oh well". She undresses herself and slips into a night dress from the wardrobe. She then climbs under the cover, lies on her left side facing the door and falls asleep. That night the resident of the castle watches Susan sleep, curious about how one person could be so beautiful


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Roughly and hour later Susan wakes up and sees the sun high in the sky. She yawns and then uses her hands to stand up. Then she heads back to the castle and starts exploring the inside. She takes the last door on her right and finds an enormous kitchen with several cookers, large sinks and lots of pots and pans. There is a large cupboard filled with eating utensils as well as other cupboards crammed with enough food to feed one hundred people.

"There's so much food here, but who's been eating it? I haven't seen another living soul since I got here" Susan thinks. She spots a door on the right hand side of the kitchen and decides to see where it leads. Susan opens the door, walks through it and finds herself back in the dining room. She leaves the dining via the other door and is back in the entrance hall. She looks outside by looking through a window and decides that she might as well go into the nearby town. She goes to the stable and fetches her horse. She then climbs on and rides into town.

When she arrives the only things she sees are despair and poverty. There are people asleep in the street, adults and children alike, all of them wearing rags. She feels sad when she sees all of this and wonders how all of this happened. She finds and official walking around and walks up to him.

"Excuse me, could you tell me what happened?" she asks.

"Susan, where have you been? Most, sadly, can't afford to pay rent and so have been evicted from their homes" he explains.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, is there anything I can do?" Susan asks.

"Unless you can persuade your father to lower the rent on their homes and decrease their taxes, then no" he replies.

"He'll never listen to me, but I can try" Susan says.

"I'll ask tomorrow, when I go back" she continues. Susan's father is the landlord for most of the population of the town as well as a member of the local authority.

Susan returns to the castle knowing with a heavy heart that there is nothing else she can do until she returns to her father the following day. She spends the rest of the day exploring the castle. During this time she finds lots of empty bedrooms all over the castle, a large ballroom and an enormous library filled with books of every kind from floor to ceiling. That night she ate very little, feeling guilty that she has lots of food and yet the villagers are starving. Later Susan goes to bed while trying to think of alternative ideas if her plan for the next day goes badly. It isn't until midday the next day that Susan decides to return to her father's house and confront him. She spends the morning in the library trying to come up with alternative ideas but after hours of trying she hasn't got one so she reluctantly gives up and leaves the castle. Susan rides her horse with it slowly walking, hoping that if she gets there late and leaves early the next day she doesn't have to spend much time there. Over an hour later Susan arrives.

She climbs off her horse and leaves it by the door in case she needs a quick getaway. Then she knocks on the door and waits. Inside the residents hear the knocking and wonder who is calling. Henry opens the door and is happy to see Susan.

"Father, I need to talk to you" Susan says.

"Susan, there you are, I knew, you'd come back" he says completely ignoring her. He drags his daughter inside and closes the door.

"You're just in time, we're about to have dinner" he says.

"Father I don't have time, I really need to talk to you about something important" Susan says. Her father's not listening.

"Claire, Danielle, Susan's back" he yells up the stairs. Two heads appear at the top of the stairs, Claire and Danielle. They run down the stairs and throw their arms around Susan.

"Okay, okay, it's nice to see you to but would you let go" Susan says after a minuet of being hugged to death. Claire and Danielle let go. Henry's walking away but Susan catches up and pulls him around to face her.

"Father, please listen to me, I REALLY NEED TO TALK TO YOU" she says. There is a deathly silence in the room.

"Okay, Susan, we'll talk but first, dinner" he says. Susan sighs; she knows that the only chance she'll have to talk to her father is after dinner. Dinner is eaten in silence.

After wards Susan and her father go to the study. When inside Henry sits down while Susan closes the door.

"Now, what do you want to talk about it?" he asks.

"It's about the nearby village" Susan says, sitting down opposite him.

"What about it?" her father asks her.

"I visited it yesterday, you have to lower taxes and rent" Susan says. Her father thinks for a moment.

"No" he says firmly. Susan stands up and leans on the desk.

"Father, I've seen the state of it, people are sleeping in the streets because there is nowhere else for them; men women and children. There's barely enough food to go around" she explains.

"They shouldn't have chosen to become peasants then" he says.

"They didn't choose it, many were born into it" Susan yells at him.

"Your sisters are getting married in roughly a year's time" he says.

"Don't change the subject father, this is important!" Susan says.

"I've made my decision and I'm not going to change my mind" he says firmly, "your sisters' want you at the wedding". Susan gives up and sits down.

"They want me as a bridesmaid?" Susan asks.

"No, they want it to be a triple wedding" her father says.

"Please don't start that again, I told you I'm not getting married to William and that's my final answer" Susan says getting fed up.

"I'm afraid you have no choice, I've made the decision for you isn't that right William?" her father says. Susan hears the door on her father's left open and stands up. The door opens and reveals William stood there. She gasps and backs away from the desk.

"Your speechless, I believe you will make a fine wife" William says stepping out of the doorway into the study.

"No" Susan yells, bolting from the room and out of the house. She climbs on her horse and rides back to the abandoned castle. While riding, she keeps looking back over her shoulder to make sure no one is following her. After several minutes she's nearly certain that she's not being followed so she slows down to a walking pace. Eventually she reaches the castle.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

When she enters the entrance a message appears on the floor.

"Welcome back Susan" it reads Susan immediately goes to her room and goes to bed. Meanwhile back at her father's house William is in her father's study plotting with him. Two days go past and Susan still hasn't come up with a way of helping the town folk. On the morning of the third day Susan is lying by the river in the castle grounds reading a book. She is lying with her head facing towards the castle. Once again she is not alone. The thing that lives in the castle is watching her through the trees, wondering whether or not to move closer. Tentatively he decides to move closer. Her moves his left foot and then hears a noise. Crack! He lifts his foot up and sees he's stood on a twig. Susan looks up and sees the thing looking at her. It sees her looking and runs. Susan puts the book down without closing it and runs after it.

"Wait up" she yells after it, "I just want to talk to you". She chases it back to the castle, through the entrance hall, up the stairs on her right as she runs in and through a door straight ahead of the stairs. When through the door Susan finds herself in a dark and gloomy corridor. There is a door at the other end but no other doors are coming off it. She sees the thing disappear through the door at the other end so she runs down the corridor following the thing again. In the next room Susan is at the bottom of a spiral staircase like the one that leads up to her room. She looks up and sees the thing running up the stairs sp she runs up as well.

At the top of the stairs there is a door. When she gets there Susan walks through into the room. She finds the room is empty of life.

"That's funny I'm sure I followed something up here" Susan says wandering around the room, looking at the furniture. There is a bed on the right side, like the one in her room accept it's broken and the dark curtains are ripped in several places. The wardrobe has been broken into several pieces that are scattered around the room. The mirror has been smashed with some of the glass in the mirror and some of it 0on the floor below it. Susan looks at it for a moment.

"Whoever did this obviously never wanted to look at his or her own reflection again" she thinks. Unknown to Susan the thing is watching her cautiously through a small gap in the in the secret door of the room he's hiding in. Susan hears a creak come from near the broken mirror.

"Hello" she calls out. There is no reply. Susan walks around.

"Please don't hide, I'm not going to hurt you, I just want to talk" Susan says. Susan stops walking with her back to the secret room. The thing takes a deep breath and quietly exits the secret room. It stands behind Susan for a minute and composes itself.

Then, it taps Susan on the shoulder. At that moment Susan feels her heart leap to her throat. She turns around and sees what tapped her shoulder. She looks it up and down, taking in every detail possible. It's a wolf like creature the size of a fully grown man that can walk on its hind legs. The body: large and furry. Its eyes: big and deep blue in colour. Its fur: a very dark brown. There is a set of large fang like teeth protruding from its mouth. There is a long tail dangling between its legs. The only item of clothing it's wearing is a pair of badly torn black trousers. Susan continues looking at it, unsure of how to react. Part of her is scared but part of her expected the resident to look the way he does.

"Aren't you scared of me?" it asks. By the sound of its voice Susan can tell it's a male. Susan shakes her head.

"Not really" she says. The wolf sits down where he is.

"Most people are scared of me, yet they don't know me" he says. He sighs. Susan sits down in front of him with her legs crossed.

"If you'd approached me when I first got here, I would've been" she says. The wolf looks up at Susan, confused at what she's said.

"You've been so kind to me, letting me stay here, providing food, shelter and warmth, you can't possibly be a monster. You may not be handsome but my mother used to tell me, it's what is inside that matter not the outside, I think she's right" Susan explains. The wolf smiles at her.

"Now, you know my name, what shall I call you?" Susan asks.

"Could you call me Wolf? After all that's what I am" he says.

"Okay, sure" Susan replies. Susan then leaves her head on her right hand and holds her right elbow with her left hand.

"Susan, are you thinking?" wolf asks.

"Yes, the people in the nearby village are suffering because of my father's selfishness. I'm trying to come up with a way to help them, especially now that summer's almost over so it won't be long before its winter" Susan answers frowning.

"Is there anything I can do?" Wolf asks.

"I don't think there is" Susan says, then, she gets an idea.

"Actually" she continues, "there is, you want people to like you and you want to help, so invite the villagers to stay here until they get back on their feet" Susan suggests. There is silence.

"This place has so much to offer, there are lots of rooms that aren't being used and you don't have to show yourself to anyone at least for a couple of weeks, we might have to brighten this place up a bit but it'll be worth it, for there to be life in this castle" Susan explains eagerly.

"I like that, that's a great idea, let's do it" wolf says.

And so Wolf and Susan spend the rest of the week cleaning the castle, making it a welcoming for everyone from the village to stay in. when they are done they look at the castle and their hearts fill with pride. Wolf stood with his right arm over Susan's shoulder and Susan stood next to him with her left arm around his waist.

"Wow, it's been some time since the castle looked this good" Wolf says.

"It took some time but we managed, I'll go to the village tomorrow, it's too late to go now" she says looking at the night sky while yawning. She bids wolf goodnight and goes to bed.

"Only a few more days" he thinks. He then goes to bed.

The next day Susan goes to the village. When she gets there the scene before her is much worse than the last time she was there. The streets are lined with people; men women and children, begging for money and sleeping. She heads for the town hall where an important meeting is being held. She enters the building and goes to the room where the meeting is being held. When she gets to the door she knocks.

"Who's there?" a voice calls from inside.

"Susan" she answers through the door. She hears some murmuring going on in the room, then someone says "let her in" and the door is opened. Susan walks in and closes the door behind her. She then spots the official that she had talked to a few days ago.

"Were you successful?" he asks. Susan shakes her head in dismay.

"No, sadly not, my father seems to be under the impression that I'm getting married to a pompous git by the name of William, but that's not going to happen" she says.

"Now, as we were saying, something has to be done before the villagers start dying of starvation and this village becomes a ghost town" another official says.

"I have a solution" Susan says.

"Okay, lets here it" the first official says. Susan explains her plan to the council. While explaining, Susan hears murmurs of agreement from the people. When finished there is complete and utter silence.

Hmm, that sounds like a brilliant idea to me" an official says.

"What do you lot think?" he says. Susan looks around the room and sees everyone nodding enthusiastically.

"Well that's it then, your plan is in, thank you Susan, we've been at our wits end trying to come up with a solution" he says.

So the group of people leave the town hall to address the villagers. There is a stand on a platform in the town square. The mayor of the village stands behind it.

"Fellow villagers, I have a very important announcement to make" he says loudly to the people. There are people from all over the village standing before the mayor, curious about what he has to say.

"Do you remember Susan, the woman who opened her heart to us when we needed help? She has once again come forward to help us now that our need is at its greatest. She has given us hope, hope of pulling through this dark time. Gather up your things and follow Susan, she will take you to a temporary home while your homes are being improved. Don't worry about the finance, I have enough funds to pay for this" he says. There is a huge cry of cheers from the crowd. After a minute the crowd disperses, gets their possessions and leave for the castle. When they arrive each family is given a room. The size of the room depends on the size of the family.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

And so it begins the regeneration of the town. Adults both males and females work in the town during the day while Susan looks after the children. Mothers of babies and young children also stay behind. Four days pass by as the villagers settle into their new temporary life at the castle. On the night of the fourth day there is a full moon. Wolf has not yet revealed himself to the villagers. Everyone is asleep; all accept Susan who cannot due to the moonlight streaming in through the window. She gets up and looks out the window while leaning on the window sill. She looks down for a moment and spots someone moving in the garden, wolf.

"Hmm, I wonder what he's doing in the garden at this time of night" Susan thinks. Her curiosity gets the better of her and she follows him after putting her shoes and cloak on. After a few minutes she stops and hides in some bushes by the river. She sees that wolf has some clothes. There is a circle of moonlight on the bank by the river. Wolf removes his torn trousers and stands in the circle of moonlight. At first nothing happens but then small amounts of fur are shedded, then more and more revealing human flesh underneath. As more flesh is revealed Susan looks away and blushes furiously. She doesn't turn back until he's covered up. When she looks he has covered up his bottom half with a new pair of trousers. She sees his muscular chest and wonders if he's still single. She then feels herself blush again and banishes the thought from her mind. Her eyes wonder for a moment until she spots a pile of clothes on a rock nearby.

"Ah, so he brought the clothes with him when he came out" she thinks. A minute later Wolf is fully clothed. He turns around and Susan ducks to avoid being seen.

When she's sure he's not looking in her direction she sits up and takes a good look at him. He has very dark brown hair like her and deep blue eyes. Susan wonders if she should move closer to him. After a minute of considering the pros and cons of it she decides it's best to leave. Just as she leaves she stands on a twig and it snaps under her foot.

"Oops" she thinks. At the same time Wolf looks in the direction the sound came from and sees Susan.

"Susan, what are you doing here? Did you follow me?" he asks.

"Yes, I couldn't sleep so I looked out of the window, and I saw you, I was curious at what you were doing so I followed, I'm sorry" she replies.

"Don't worry, I was kind of hoping you'd follow me" he says.

"Why?" Susan asks curiously.

"Susan, you're the first person who hasn't tried to kill me in the first instant they've seen me, that means something special to me" he answers. Susan looks at him for a moment in silence.

"Who are you, really?" she asks him.

"My name is Jonathon; I'm twenty three years old and an only child. My mother was a witch and when she found out that my father was having an affair she cursed me to get back at him. That night I ran away from home and never returned. I've been living here ever since" he explains.

"Wow, listening to your story makes mine seem better than it actually is" Susan says.

"What is your story?" Jonathon asks.

"My father's arranged a marriage for me to one of the richest men around only I don't love him, I don't even like him. It doesn't help that he's been asking me to marry him since he met me e year ago now" Susan says. She sighs.

"It sounds like you really hate him" Jonathon says.

"You have no idea" Susan says.

"Whoever this man is, he's very lucky" Jonathon says.

"Why is that?" Susan asks.

"Susan you're a very beautiful woman, there are probably lots of men who would give anything to be your husband" he says.

"Beauty seems to be the only thing men care about these days when looking for a wife, that and whether they have rich parents or not" Susan says.

Susan sighs and looks up at the stars. Jonathon follows suit.

"The sky is clear tonight, you can see lots of stars" she says.

"I know" he says. There is silence as the two of them stare at the stars.

"So what do you do on these occasions after you've changed?" Susan asks a few minutes later. Jonathon looks at her.

"I don't usually do anything as normally I'm alone when I change" he replies.

"Well now you're not alone, so what are you going to do?" she asks.

"I don't know" he says thinking. After a couple of minutes he has an idea.

"I've got an idea, do you dance Susan?" he asks her.

"Yes" Susan replies, confused and uncertain of what's happening.

"Would you dance with me?" he asks. Susan looks at him.

"But there's no music" Susan says.

"Not a problem" he says standing behind, "close your eyes and listen closely".

Susan complies, at first she hears nothing then slowly but surely she begins to hear the sounds around her; the movement of the river, the rustling of the leaves in the wind. She listens to this for several minutes.

"You can open your eyes now" Jonathon says. She does and turns around to face him. They join hands, at the time Susan's and Jonathon's hands touch she feels her heart beat quicken. Susan and Jonathon dance to the music of nature. At the same time Susan is listening to the music of her heart. Hours fly by like seconds as the couple twirl and spin through the moonlight. But sadly good things must end and the moon begins to set. Jonathon notices this and stops dancing.

"Jonathon, what's wrong?" Susan asks as he lets go of her.

"The moon is setting, it won't be long before I change back" he says. The two of them stand in silence as the moon gets lower and lower in the sky, neither go them wanting to be the first to speak. Minutes pass by like this.

"Is there anything I can do to break the curse?" Susan asks. Jonathon turns around to face Susan and walks towards her.

"No, there's nothing you can do, there's nothing anyone can do" he says. He reaches Susan and takes her hands in his. Susan's heartbeat quickens but then slows again as her hands find comfort in his. For a few moments Susan is entranced by Jonathon's deep blue eyes.

Then she sees the moon disappearing over the horizon behind him. Hairs start growing out of Jonathon's skin. While this is happening the shape of his body changes from that of a man to that of a wolf. His clothes rip, tear and eventually fall apart, all accept his trousers which only remain torn, she feels the hairs on his paws prickle her hands but she doesn't let go, the hairs are soft and she likes the way they feel on her hands. Jonathon lets go of her hands.

"I think I'd better go back inside, it's really late" Susan says. Jonathon nods and Susan goes back to bed. Over the next few months the village is developed by the villagers. During this time Susan gets to know wolf/Jonathon a lot better. The two of them spend evenings reading by the fire. Every full moon they dance in the moonlight. Christmas comes and goes and before Susan knows it she has been at the castle for a whole year and her sister's wedding us approaching faster and faster. By now the village has been repaired and the villagers have moved back into their own homes so the castle is once again almost empty of life and scarily quiet.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

On the day a year after Susan first arrived at the castle there are some unexpected visitors, Danielle Claire. On this morning Susan hears a knock on the door and wonders who it is. She opens the door and is surprised to see her sisters standing before her.

"Claire, Danielle what are you doing here?" she asks them.

"There's something we need to talk to you about, can we come in?"Claire asks.

"Of course, where are my manners?" Susan says. She lets them in and closes the door behind them. She takes them into the library and sits down. They also sit down.

"So what do you want to talk about?" Susan asks.

"We were wondering if you would be a bridesmaid at our wedding in four weeks time" Danielle asks. Susan is stunned.

"Wow, me a bridesmaid. Yes I'd love to" she says.

"Good, that's settled, if you come in the morning that way we can get ready together" Claire says. Susan bids her sisters farewell and escorts them out. When they are gone she jumps for joy.

"I'm going to be a bridesmaid" she says to herself. She stands still when she hears wolf enter the room. She turns around to face him. Wolf walks over to where Susan is stood.

"Who was at the door?" he asks.

"It was my sisters; they're getting married in four weeks time and they want me to be a bridesmaid" Susan replies.

"Oh" he says looking at the floor. Susan notices this.

"Don't worry wolf, it's only one day, I'll leave in the morning and be back in the evening" she says, trying to comfort him. He smiles at her.

"Different subject, did you know that as of today I've been in this castle a whole year, I know the time's gone by quickly, so why don't we do something special tonight, it is a full moon tonight anyway" Susan suggests. Wolf nods.

"I'll meet you outside after the moon has risen" Susan says.

That is what happens hours later with the moon rising higher into the sky. Jonathon, wearing a smart suit is waiting by the river. Susan sees him from her bedroom window and goes to meet him. Susan is wearing a red corset style sleeveless top with black flower patterns all over it with a matching full length skirt. Her long dark hair is draped over her shoulders.

"Wow, you look beautiful" he says.

"Thank you" Susan says while her cheeks become bright red. The two of them dance for a short while.

"So, what do you want do to now?" Susan asks. They stop dancing and Jonathon places his left hand on her head.

"There's something I want to try, I know it won't end this curse but I still want to know what it's like" he says. Jonathon takes Susan's head in his hands and kisses her. It is a long and gentle kiss. Finally their lips part and Jonathon steps back.

"Wow" says Susan unsure of how to react, "I don't usually get that close to me". Silence.

"How did you know that a kiss wouldn't break the curse?" she asks. Jonathon remains silent. Then Susan remembers something.

"Is that why you've been spending a lot of time in the library, you've been researching how to break the curse. Did you find a way?" Susan asks eager to know the answer.

"Yes, but it's something that I couldn't do, ever" he replies.

"What is it?" asks Susan tentatively, curious of what it is.

"I'd have to take your heart from you, I could never ask that of you" he says solemnly. He turns and walks away from her.

"Oh" Susan says. A minute later she walks up behind him and turns him around to face her.

"Jonathon, breaking the curse doesn't matter, what matters is spending as much time as we can together" she says. So the business of ending the curse is forgotten.

The next four weeks pass by quickly and the day of Susan's sisters' wedding arrives. Susan is about to leave wearing a simple dark blue dress with her cloak when wolf appears in the entrance hall.

"Are you sure you want to go?" he asks her.

"Wolf, we've been over this for the past four weeks now, I said 0I'd go so I'm going, I'll be back tonight so don't worry" Susan says.

"I know, I know, I just have a really bad feeling about it" he says.

"You worry too much" she says, she gives him a kiss on the cheek, "I'll be back later tonight, so relax".

"I'd still feel better if you didn't go" he says. Susan sighs; this argument is going nowhere fast.

"I'll see you when I get back" she says. She then leaves.

She travels to her father's house on her horse. When she gets there she finds the door open.

"Hmm, that's unusual, the doors are normally locked" she thinks. She goes inside and looks around after shutting the door.

"Hello, Claire, Danielle, I'm here" she calls out. No answer. She walks further while looking around at her old home. She doesn't hear someone approach from behind but she feels them hit her on the back of her head, knocking her out. Just as she blacks out she sees the last two people on earth that she wants to see, her father and William. They stand over her as she loses consciousness.

"That was way too easy, it was a great idea sending Claire and Danielle to invite her to the wedding" William says.

"I'm actually surprised that she didn't sense a trap" Henry says. Claire and Danielle appear from out of the study, looking very ashamed of themselves for their part in this plan.

Many hours later Susan wakes up feeling groggy and not herself at all. She doesn't pay attention as someone dresses her in a long sleeved, full length wedding dress complete with corset. She also doesn't notice her sisters being dressed in matching outfits to hers. When all three of them are ready they climb into a carriage and head to the church. When someone hands Susan a bouquet of flowers she is still unaware of what is going on around her. Her sisters are stood in front of her. It is as if Susan is only partially conscious. The door opens in front of them into the church and they walk down the aisle, Claire in front, Danielle behind her and Susan following last. Then there is a cry of sorrow and loneliness as someone faraway calls out Susan's name. This breaks her out of the trance. She stops where she is and looks around the room, finally realising where she is. She sees William stood at the altar with James and Steven. She gasps, dropping the flowers putting her hands to her mouth. The voice in the distance calls again.

"Wolf, I'm coming" Susan yells after turning to face the door. She heads towards the door, about to leave.

"Susan, where are you going?" William yells after her.

"Back home where I belong" she yells back. Susan turns around and looks at him.

"Back to that hideous monster?" he asks.

"wolf, isn't a monster, he may look like one but inside he's kind and caring, not like you, you arrogant, selfish git" she answers. Then she feels someone bash her head again.

"Not again" she thinks as she loses consciousness for a second time.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

Over an hour later she wakes up with an excruciating headache. She clutches her head with her hand.

"Oh my head" she says, suddenly she remembers something, "Wolf, I've got to save him, who knows what William's planning". She stands up and looks around taking in her surroundings but she can hardly see anything because it's so dark. She spots a window and sees the moonlight coming in from outside. She goes and stands in the light.

"It's a full moon tomorrow night, I wonder where I am and how I get out of here" she says to herself. Her eyes wonder until she spots a door. She walks over to it and finds it locked. She thinks for a minute and kicks it sharply again and again until it opens. She then recognises where she is.

"I'm in the basement of my father's house" she says. She runs out the house, climbs on her horse and rides towards the castle.

Meanwhile William is at the castle entrance with a large group of armed men trying to breach the door. The door is barricaded but it is not strong enough and it soon gives way. They search the castle but cannot find wolf. While this is happening Susan is riding as fast as she can towards Wolf, hoping she's not too late. William has found wolf sat by the river and is circling him with his gun pointing towards him. At this point Susan has reached the castle and is running through the forest near the castle; the brambles cutting at her feet making them bleed and stain her dress. They are also ripping and tearing her dress. She hears a shot and stops where she is. She is shocked and then this turns to anger. She runs out of the forest and towards William, drawing the sword she'd picked up before she's left her father's house. William draws his sword and the two of them dash again and again as Susan and William fight. They twirl and dodge each other's advances.

"You monster, how could you?" Susan yells angrily at him. The sword fight goes on and on and a minute later Susan disarms William. Then she shoves her sword in the middle of his chest right in his heart, killing him instantly. She takes her sword out of him and his body falls forward. Susan stands where she is, taking deep breaths for a minute.

Then she drops her sword and goes over to wolf. She kneels down by him and places her hand over his heart, trying to feel its beat. It's there but its weak and getting weaker and weaker by the minute.

"No, Wolf, don't die on me, not now, not after everything we've been through. I know you said you couldn't ask me for my heart but you don't have to ask, I give it to you freely and completely" she says sobbing. Then she feels his heart stop beating completely.

"No don't leave me please, I love you and I couldn't live without you" she cries. Nothing happens and Susan bursts into tears, lying on Wolf while crying. She cries herself to sleep. The next day passes by but Susan doesn't move. Night time comes again and the moon rises into the sky, the full moon. Wolf transforms back into Jonathon but still there is no heart beat. The moon rises and then sets but when the moon disappears beyond the horizon. Jonathon does not transform and Susan feels his chest rise and fall as well as a heartbeat. She sits up and he rolls over onto his back and gets up. He looks at himself all over and then looks at the sky and sees that the moon is not there. Susan is looking at Jonathon, uncertain of what's happening.

"Susan, you've ended the curse, but how?" he asks.

"I gave my heart to you willingly, but that was last night" she says. She runs into his outstretched arms and he spins her around.

"Will you marry me?" Jonathon asks. Susan nods and kisses him. Many months later they are married. It is a magical day attended by Susan's sisters and their husbands as well as her father. Susan and Jonathon live the rest of their lives in the castle together.

The End

The moral of this story is (yes another moral) that true love does not come instantly; it blooms over a long period of time and grows stronger and stronger with years.


End file.
